Money & Costs
Currency: Euro
Meals
Budget: €6-10
Mid-range: €10-30
High: €30-65
Deluxe: €65+
Lodging
Budget: €30-50
Mid-range: €50-80
High: €80-120
Deluxe: €120+
Monaco is not a budget destination - over 75% of its hotel rooms are classified as four-star deluxe. The one hostel that did exist was demolished, to re-open in 2008. You might get away with paying around US$20 a night for half a double room, otherwise head across the border into France to Beausoleil for cheaper options. If you manage to snap up one of the less expensive rooms in Monaco and you can restrain yourself from splurging at the casino, you should be able to scrape by on about US$40 a day. Buying your food at the supermarket in the Fontvieille shopping centre is one way to save a few precious euros.
Realistically, most visitors to Monaco will need around US$100 a day. This will pay for your midrange room, a couple of meals and maybe a turn or two on the roulette wheel. On the upside, there’s not much more than a day’s entertainment in Monaco, so chances are you won’t be staying overnight anyway.
This is a nation that wants you to spend, spend, spend, and consequently they’re falling over themselves to change your hard-earned foreign currency into casino-country cash. The official currency is the euro, but whatever you’ve got, you shouldn’t have too much trouble changing it - there’s a plethora of banks around the casino in particular.